Asylum seekers being moved into the Napier barracks site in Kent have been told they will reside at the former military facility for at least two to three more months, the Guardian understands, as a number of legal challenges are poised to be heard.
Men who are being held in hotels, as well as some new arrivals in the UK, have received letters from the Home Office telling them they will be moved into the barracks on Friday and that “it is anticipated you will reside at Napier for between 60 and 90 days”.
The Home Office has previously said the former Ministry of Defence site was being used as “temporary, contingency accommodation” for asylum seekers who would eventually be moved to dispersal accommodation such as a house or flat.
The Guardian understands that among those who will be sent there this week are men who have previously stayed in the barracks, including an asylum seeker who spent two months in Napier, left in December and has stayed in a hotel since, still waiting to hear about his asylum claim.
Critics expressed anger and disappointment on Wednesday when it emerged that the Home Office intended to continue housing asylum seekers in Napier, despite having emptied it of residents over the weekend.
The decision to persist with the use of Napier comes despite a significant Covid outbreak in January in which 50% of the near 400 residents fell sick, the closure of a sister site in Pembrokeshire and months of revelations over the suitability of the camp.
A 25-year-old asylum seeker from Iran, who has received a letter telling him he is to be sent to Napier barracks on Friday, told the Guardian the correspondence had triggered suicidal thoughts.
He has been in the UK since February and has been staying in a hotel in east London. He applied for asylum after being politically persecuted and threatened with death in Iran, but has received no update from the Home Office on his claim.
He said: “When I received the letter, I was shocked. My life in Iran was like prison. I don’t want to live in another prison-state.
“There are too many people in such a small place – it will be too crowded. I’m worried about the hygiene, the food. If I’m there for much longer than a week, I will consider suicide.”
Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais, which has assisted asylum seekers in Napier barracks, said: “Today we’ve had many panicked and fearful messages from refugees around the country who have been told by the Home Office they are being moved to the notorious and unfit-for-purpose Napier barracks.”
She added: “If it isn’t closed for good, then it is essential that, this time, residents are properly screened for vulnerabilities before being transferred and people are kept there for the minimum amount of time.”
Meanwhile, two joint legal cases brought by lawyers at Deighton Pierce Glynn and Matthew Gold claiming that conditions in Napier are inadequate and unlawful will be heard in the high court next Wednesday and Thursday.
The lawyers say that if there is just one positive case of Covid, many asylum seekers could once again become infected because of communal sleeping arrangements in blocks of up to 28 people, along with communal dining and recreation facilities.
The human rights charity Liberty and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants have been given permission to intervene in the case.
A separate legal challenge is under way by a third firm of lawyers, Duncan Lewis, claiming the Home Office does not have planning permission to accommodate asylum seekers in Napier after March 2021.
Clare Jennings, from Matthew Gold, said: “We are very concerned that the Home Office is proposing to move people back into Napier barracks just days before the high court case on whether the use of the barracks is lawful.”
The lawyers had asked the Home Office to delay moving new people into Napier until after the court hearing.
“Public Health England advised that Napier barracks were not suitable, but insofar as we are aware, no fundamental changes appear to have been made to address these concerns. Housing hundreds of men together, sharing dormitories, bedrooms and communal areas mean it is impossible for residents to avoid having contact with each other. Another outbreak therefore seems inevitable.”
Earlier this year the high court heard that the Home Office ignored Public Health England advice that the dormitory-style accommodation at Napier was not suitable during the pandemic.
And the HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration published a damning report after inspections of Napier and the now-closed Penally camp, calling the sites “filthy” and “impoverished”.
The letter issued to the new intake of people attempts to reassure them over their status. It reads: “You are not being detained under immigration powers, and Napier is not detention accommodation. You are free to leave the site, but we would request that you sign in and out of the site when you leave and return, so we can assure your safety.”
It lists facilities at the barracks including an on-site nurse, Migrant Help advisers, a visiting dentist, recreational space, worship rooms, private space for consultations and to make phone calls, wifi access and asylum interviewing facilities.
However, the Guardian understands that the Home Office intends to continue housing up to 28 men in a block, an arrangement that has been criticised by inspectors and Public Health England.
The Home Office has been approached for comment.